Champs De Grasse, Thorne can’t slow down
Sprinter, race walker show the same desire to win and inspire in their own ways
OTTAWA— It took Andre De Grasse 19.96 seconds to make Canada’s world championships team again on Sunday. It took race walker Ben Thorne one hour, 22 minutes and 11.1 seconds, and when he crossed the line he slumped down on the grass in a quiet park with a couple dozen officials, coaches and friends on hand.
The sport scene and profile is completely different — De Grasse won the 200-metre sprint before a cheering stadium and kids wanting his autograph -— but the pride in competing well is exactly the same. Thorne, a bronze medallist at the world championships two years ago, threw out his plans to take it easy during his Sunday morning race, despite knowing a hard 20-kilometre effort just four weeks before the worlds is a bit much.
“I’ve never won a national championship before and I wanted to. These guys have always been beating me,” said the 24-year-old from Kitimat, B.C., gesturing to fellow Olympians Evan Dunfee, who came second and will race the 50K at the worlds, and the newly retired Inaki Gomez.
De Grasse couldn’t even contemplate taking things slowly as he stepped into the blocks at Terry Fox Stadium beside Aaron Brown and Brendon Rodney — the next two fas- test 200-metre men in Canadian history after De Grasse, the record holder at 19.80.
“I’m happy about it, the wind wasn’t legal, but I’ll take it,” the newly minted doubled sprint champion said after dipping below 20 seconds.
The Markham sprinter wasn’t happy with the first 100 metres of his 200, and fixing that will be his focus over the few weeks he has left before the worlds in London next month.
“I had to work really hard the last 100 to try and catch these guys so I’m happy my strength is there, even if I didn’t have my speed,” he said. “I know I have to go faster at worlds. In order for me to win, I probably have to break my Canadian record.”
De Grasse won silver in the 200 at the Rio Olympics and bronze medals in the 100 and the 4x100 relay. He expects to race Usain Bolt in the 100 again, and isn’t shy about saying he’d like to beat him. The world record holder has already said he won’t run the 200, making that race a better gold-medal bet for De Grasse.
Sunday was the final day of the Canadian track and field championships, which determines the team Canada will send to London, and there were several other key wins.
Toronto’s Crystal Emmanuel, in the midst of her best season, would have set a Canadian record in the 200 had the wind been within the allowable limit. She ran 22.55 seconds.
The record, held by Marita Payne, basketball star Andrew Wiggins’ mom, is 22.62.
Reigning world pole vault champion Shawn Barber reclaimed his Canadian title with a jump of 5.40 metres and will spend the next few weeks trying to get back up to the heights he knows he’ll need to medal in London.
De Grasse was the biggest star of the weekend, drawing record crowds, and when asked how many autographs he signed, the 22-yearold from Markham replied, “Hundreds, close to thousands maybe. I’m kind of amazed and shocked that so many people want my autograph. It’s a cool feeling.”
That’s a feeling, on a smaller scale, that Dunfee has had since his dramatic fourth-place finish at the Rio Olympics, which went a long way to increasing Canadian interest in race walking, an oft-misunderstood sport. Now, he’s routinely asked to speak to schools and has been surprised by how well kids have responded.
“I’ll leave Andre De Grasse to inspire the kids that want to be sprinters or play in the NHL or be in the NBA and I can be there for a kid who wants to be a curler, race walker or . . . those kids out there that are doing niche sports.”